Graduate courses are offered by the electrical engineering faculty at Portland State University with the purpose of providing part-time or full-time graduate-level educational opportunities for electrical and computer engineers leading towards the Masters or Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Graduate level work is offered in automatic control theory, power and energy systems, power electronics, digital signal processing, communication systems, optoelectronics, laser systems, advanced electronic systems and VLSI, analog and digital circuit design, computer architecture, computer vision and computer systems, and electromagnetics. The schedule attempts to accommodate both full-time and part- time (evening) students.
Extensive computing facilities are available for instruction and research both on campus and in the Department of Electrical Engineering. Graduate students in the department have access to an IBM 4381/12 mainframe computer, several Sequent multiprocessor machines, a local area network of SUN, SPARC, and various Tektronix workstations as well as numerous IBM and Macintosh personal computers.
Laboratories dedicated to specific research areas include laboratories for modern optics and lasers, power electronics, computer vision, analog integrated circuit design, and the VLSI design center. In addition a number of instructional laboratories are frequently used for research projects, including the electrical machines laboratory, the electromagnetics and micro-wave laboratory, a state-of-the- art micro-computer development laboratory, a general purpose electronic circuits laboratory and the control systems laboratory.
General degree requirements are outlined below and in the 1995-96 Portland State University Bulletin. For additional information write to or call:
EE Graduate Coordinator,
Department of Electrical Engineering,
Portland State University, P.O.Box 751,
Portland Oregon 97207-0751
Telephone (503) 725-3806
E-mail address: eed@ee.pdx.edu
in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Admission Requirements
Applicants who have completed a B.S. degree in either Electrical or Computer Engineering at a recognized university with a grade point average of 3.00 or better in all junior and senior level technical courses may be considered for admission to the Department of Electrical Engineering as regular graduate students. Students who have completed a B.S. degree in a related field (normally either mathematics, physics, computer science or mechanical engineering) or applicants with a B.S. EE degree and a grade point average in their upper division technical coursework below 3.00 but higher than 2.75 may be granted conditional admission status.
Admission is possible in any quarter of the year, but applications for spring term are discouraged. Most course sequences begin in the fall or winter quarters, and students who arrive in spring or summer may not find suitable courses for their study plans.
Degree Requirements
The total number of graduate level credits in a
student's program must be at least 45. In addition to the
University
master's degree requirements (listed on page 98 of
the 1995-96 Portland State University Bulletin), a candidate
for the M.A. or M.S. degree in electrical and computer
engineering normally must complete at least 24 graduate
level credits in electrical and computer engineering
including at least one EE course sequence and excluding all
omnibus numbered courses (EE 501/601, 503/603, 504/604,
505/605, 506/606, 507/607, 510/610) and transfer courses. A
minimum of three credits of graduate seminar EE 507 taken at
one credit per term must be completed. Specific course
requirements depend on the student's area of emphasis, and
the student's program must be approved by his/her academic
adviser.
Students are required to complete a tentative degree
plan which is approved by their advisor not later than the
second quarter of their residence at P.S.U. An M.S. Study
Plan form for this purpose is available in the E.E.
Department Office. Students are also required to obtain
their advisor's approval of their coursework each quarter on
a Quarterly Study Plan form. Coursework taken without
advisor approval may not be accepted as part of a student's
program.
Thesis and nonthesis options are available. In the
nonthesis option the candidate must pass a final examination
covering materials related to his/her field of
specialization. In the thesis option the candidate's program
must include a minimum of 6 thesis credits and a final oral
thesis defense. The defense is public and its schedule must
be posted in the Electrical Engineering department at least
two weeks in advance.
Students may change advisors as their study plans
develop, and a faculty member may withdraw from serving as
thesis advisor to an M.S. student. The faculty recognizes
its responsibility to provide adequate advising to all
admitted students in the M.S. nonthesis option plan, and the
departmental graduate coordinator will ensure that all
nonthesis students have an academic advisor. For progress in
the thesis option plan, it is essential that each student
identifies an appropriate thesis advisor.
All M.S. thesis students must provide the Department of
Electrical Engineering with a check to cover the cost of
binding their thesis (usually about $13) before final
departmental sign-off of the GO-17 form confirming
completion of departmental requirements.
Up to one third of the credits required for the M.S.
degree may be transferable from other institutions.
A student applying to the Ph.D. program in electrical
and computer engineering will normally be required to
demonstrate an acceptable level of performance in the GRE
examination and to have completed an M.A. or M.S. degree in
electrical engineering or a related field.
Admission is possible in any quarter of the year, but
applications for spring term are discouraged. Most course
sequences begin in the fall or winter quarters, and students
who arrive in spring or summer may not find suitable courses
for their study plans.
In addition to the University doctoral degree
requirements (listed on page 94 of the 1995-96 Portland State
University Bulletin), a candidate for the Ph.D. degree in
electrical and computer engineering must complete a minimum
of 45 graduate credits in electrical and computer
engineering and at least nine graduate credits in a minor
field outside the Department of Electrical Engineering.
Coursework for the minor field must be supportive of but
distinct from the major field and must not include transfer
courses or the omnibus numbered courses EE 501/601, 503/603,
504/604, 505/605, 506/606, 507/607. Each Ph.D. student is
required to present at least one departmental seminar and is
normally expected to have at least one archival publication.
Specific course requirements depend on the student's area of
emphasis, and the student's program must be approved by
his/her academic advisor.
Students are required to complete a tentative degree
plan which is approved by their advisor not later than the
second quarter of their residence at P.S.U. An Ph.D. Study
Plan form for this purpose is available in the E.E.
Department Office. Students are also required to obtain
their advisor's approval of their coursework each quarter on
a Quarterly Study Plan form. Coursework taken without
advisor approval may not be accepted as part of a student's
program.
Students in the Ph.D. Program in electrical and computer
engineering are required to pass a comprehensive examination
(written and/or oral) after completing their coursework.
They are also required to obtain approval of their proposed
research plan by their doctoral committee before they can be
advanced to candidacy.
Students may change advisors as their study plans
develop; and, prior to successful achievement of candidacy,
a faculty member may withdraw from serving as thesis advisor
to a Ph.D. student. For progress in the program, it is
essential that each student identifies an appropriate thesis
advisor.
A dissertation containing a real contribution to
knowledge based on the candidate's own investigation and a
final oral dissertation defense are required. The
dissertation must show a mastery of the literature of the
subject and be written in creditable literary form. The
defense is public and its schedule must be posted in the
Electrical Engineering department at least two weeks in
advance.
Ph.D. students must provided the Department of
Electrical Engineering with a check to cover the cost of
binding
their thesis (usually about $15) before final departmental
sign-off of the GO-17 form confirming completion of
departmental requirements.
Transfer Credits
One of the following sequences is required for the M.S. degree.
in Electrical or Computer Engineering
Admission Requirements
Degree Requirements
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